Pasadena Council to take position on 710 tunnel

PASADENA - The City Council will take a position Monday on whether or not a tunnel should complete the Long Beach (710) Freeway.

Though it opposed three other alternatives at a meeting in August, the council has shied away from taking a position on the tunnel connecting linking the San Bernardino (10) and Foothill (210) freeways.

While some residents believe the council kept quiet so that the freeway extension wouldn't become an issue in the state Assembly campaign of former City Councilman Chris Holden, city officials said they were awaiting a legal opinion.

Councilman Terry Tornek said he is glad the council will finally take a stand on the tunnel, but he's not sure it will affect Metro's decision to extend the freeway.

"Frankly, I've been asking to have this brought forward much sooner, I think the public deserves to have an opportunity to know how we feel about this stuff," Tornek said. "But I also think there is a misconception about the influence the council can have in all this. This isn't our project and we are not the decision-makers here."

The council must reconcile whatever position it takes with voter-approved Measure A, which was passed in 2001. Pasadena residents took a position in support of "completing the 710 freeway between I-10 and I-210."

At an August City Council meeting, Councilman Steve Madison proposed a resolution to oppose the tunnel.

Holden said such a resolution could pose legal issues.

In turn, the council requested that staff solicit an outside legal opinion on Measure A's restrictions.

Since then, Metro has narrowed down the options for the 710 gap closure project to five, none of which was among those the council opposed. The final options, to be detailed in a final report this month, are "no build," bus, light rail, traffic management solutions and the tunnel.

Though Metro maintains it is still considering all options equally, Southern California Association of Governments Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata has said the tunnel is the only viable approach and SCAG's Regional Transportation Plan includes the freeway completion as a tunnel.

With the tunnel continuing to gain support, many of the more than 500 angry and vocal freeway fighters who attended the August meeting have been urging the council for months to take a stance, accusing them of "stalling."

Resident Weston DeWalt said he thinks the council wanted to avoid taking a position on the issue while Holden's election to State Assembly and Metro's Measure J were up for vote.

"I think the delay has been purposeful," DeWalt said. "I think it's wrong, I think the public was entitled to have their opinion prior to that and to see how individual council members would vote."

DeWalt believes the "delay" is a violation of city codes which prohibit the council from "impeding governmental responsiveness or efficiency." Regardless of the results of Monday's vote, he said he plans to file a report with the public integrity division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

"I have increasingly become concerned with the City Council's lack of consideration of public concern when deciding on critical issues," he said, adding that he also disagreed with the council's recent vote to approve the Rose Bowl as a temporary NFL stadium.

City Manager Michael Beck said it is "factually inaccurate" to say the council has been stalling the process. He said the council could not act until it received the opinion.

"The council in their due diligence has been thoughtful and considerate of the issue. It is a significant issue for them to evaluate, having them consider this now is not untimely in any way shape or form," Beck said. "I think its been appropriate that they have not automatically jumped to a conclusion."

Tornek said the council received a preliminary outside legal report in closed session "some time ago" but that he had not seen anything since.

City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris said the city consulted with Los Angeles attorney Fred Woocher for the outside legal opinion on Measure A.

Beck said the council could vote to take a position on the tunnel or petition for a ballot measure to put the issue back to the voters.

Either way, Councilman Victor Gordo said he hopes the meeting will be an opportunity for the community, the council and Metro to have a healthy discussion.

"This is a complex issue that involves not just the city of Pasadena but the region, and I would urge people on all sides of the issue to attend the meeting to give us their feedback and then allow for a debate that results in a decision that is in the city's best interest," Gordo said.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St.